Stop complaining about moving back home

Life is principally about patterns. We are born someday, and die on another. We wake up at some hour, and return to sleep at another. We come to university in some year, and graduate in another.

Within this rigid string of patterns lays our erratic daily struggles, be it physical, psychological or emotional; and for many university students, thinking about life after university is a particularly sturdy struggle.

For some, this struggle is about figuring out the most substantial way to continue their education, or about figuring out which is the best of two job offers, or quite commonly, about figuring out which exotic countries should quench their wanderlust and host their quest towards self-discovery.

For others, this struggle is unromantic, simple and agonizing. It is about deciding whether or not to move back into their parent’s house in the absence of any other exciting and financially viable options. It’s simple because it fits into some sort of pattern: you leave your parent’s house for university, and after university, you return.

However, it’s agonizing because in all the years you’ve been away at school you’ve grown comfortable with the freedom that comes with the experience. You go from being an awkward teenager into being a slightly less awkward young adult. And oftentimes, moving back home is seen not only as a threat to your newfound independence, but as a giant step in the wrong direction.

In spite of all that, it’s better to approach this struggle — and other struggles — optimistically and wholeheartedly, because having the opportunity to reconnect with family is a privilege not many can boast of.

In fact, beyond just economical terms, it is a luxury to have a home to move back to, where the only thing freer than the accommodation is the food.

So while at first glance we may condemn those who’ve had to move back home as unfortunate, on the second and third glances we ought to realize that they may in fact be the luckiest of all.